If Only
by Keagen
Summary: Danny comes home late


**There is literally no reason behind this story other than me wanting to write. Also, apologize about some of the paragraphing. It hates me and I'm too tired to fix it.**

He quickly put the lid back on the thermos, glad that the fight was over. Danny stood there for a few minutes, breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath. He was in a dark alley, away from the busy street, and only a single street lamp to illuminate the area. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he knew it was most indefinitely past curfew.

Sighing, he slid the thermos into his school backpack. He had been away practically all day. For some reason, ghosts seem to be more active today. Perhaps that was because it was slowly getting warmer? A cold breeze blasts past Danny. He shivered, covering his bare and bruised arms. He decided that he wasn't that warm just yet.

Danny waited for a few minutes before he started walking home; he wanted to be sure that there wasn't any other ghosts in the area. As he limped down the street, he pulled out his phone and checked the time. The glow from the phone blinded him for a few moments as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. Once he could see the phone's screen, he looked at the time. It was almost four in the morning. He cringed, already feeling bad with what he was about to do.

He pressed number one, and it automatically started dialing Sam's phone. Sam answered at the third tone with a vicious "what". Danny cringed again. He knew from experience that if he doesn't answer within five seconds, she'll hang up. He swallowed nervously. "Hi Sam."

"Danny? Are you alright?" she asked, the murderous tone gone from her voice, replaced with concern.

"Yeah, I'm good. But I think I might need your medical talents for a bit," he said, glancing down at his leg. One of the ghosts managed to get a lucky shot and gouged his leg. He had hastily wrapped some fabric around it during the midst of battle, but by then the fabric was already soaked with his blood. He figured it wasn't bleeding that bad, but it would need stitches.

A sigh was heard from the other end. "Fine. You'll be here in a few minutes?" she asked, really meaning is he going to fly here as Phantom.

"No, I don't think I can. I've been fighting all day."

She hummed in response. "How long will you be?"

Danny lowered the phone and glanced around, looking for any landmarks that he recognized. Once he saw one, he raised the phone back to his ear. "It'll probably take about ten minutes."

"Alright. Text me when you're at the door," she said before hanging up. Danny sighed, thinking of the walk he'll have to do with a bummed leg. At four in the morning. When it's cold. He's going to be pissed if he gets sick from this. Grudgingly, he started his trek to Sam's house.

It was a lot harder than he realized. Every time he accidentally put too much weight on his injured leg, a shot of pain would shoot up his leg and into his side. At one point he was considering flying, but he decided against it. He could just imagine himself changing back in mid flight. He had no idea how reliable it would be when he was this tired, both mentally and physically. He just didn't want to risk it.

He thanked whatever in the high skies that could hear him when he finally reached Sam's house. That was probably the longest walk he had ever done. He pulled out his phone again and sent a small text saying he was there. He waited for a minute or two at her door when she finally opened it. She put a finger to her lips, signaling silence, before turning around and walking into his house. He limped after her. Her house never ceased to amaze him. They both walked into her room and she silently shut the door behind her.

She turned backed to him. "I need you to take your jeans off. While you do that, I'll go grab the stuff I need."

Danny watched as she walked towards her bathroom and started going through her stuff. He sighed and unbuckled his pants before gently sliding them down to his ankles. It was difficult to get it past his wound, and he was so thankful that he wore baggy jeans this day. He stepped out of his jeans and grabbed them. Sam walked back in and gave him a look. "Nice space boxers."

He looked down at his boxers which was glowing in the dark. He blushed; he had forgotten that he was wearing these. She signal him to sit down and he obeyed. She grabbed a damp rag and gently wiped around his wound, clearing off the dirt and blood so she can see it better. Danny winced when she got too close to it, but she ignored him. Once she was sure that it was clean, she grabbed the rubbing alcohol and soaked a section of the towel with it. Very gently, she dabbed the wound with the alcohol soaked towel. She waited until it Danny stopped gasping in pain.

Once she got a nod from him, she continued her job. She grabbed some numbing cream and laid a very thin coat on the surrounding skin. It wouldn't helped a lot, but it was something. Once the area was prepared, she grabbed her clean needle and thread. Fortunately, she managed to get some actual medical thread instead of having to use regular thread.

Every time the needle entered his skin, Danny would flinched and Sam would apologize. She hated doing this but knew it was necessary. He couldn't go to the hospital without his parents knowing. When she was done, she let out a huge sigh and cut the thread. She then wrapped the wound with some gauze to keep the thread protected

"There, done," she said, standing up. "Be careful for a few days, alright? I don't want to see you ripping them out."

"Yes, ma'am," Danny replied while pulling on his pants. He readjusted the belt before laying his shirt over it. He tested his leg before walking a few steps. Once he was satisfied, he glanced up at Sam and smiled. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Just, leave. I'm tired and we're getting up in a few hours," she said not unkindly. She was just tired and grumpy. Danny smiled before waving bye to her. He lead himself to the door and walked outside. His house wasn't that far and Sam didn't needed to watch him.

He sighed when he reached his house. He has been up all night and was exhausted. He wondered if his mother was still up or not. He really hoped she wasn't. But just in case, he silently opened his front door and closed it. He nearly had a heart attack, however, when he walked into the living room. His mother was sitting on the couch, facing right towards him.

It took a grand total of two minutes before he realized that she wasn't even awake. He sighed and walked as close to her as he dared. She looked as if she must have been asleep for a while now. Danny grabbed the blanket off of the bigger couch and covered her with it. He was about to leave when something cause his eye.

It was a small, worn, piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up and inspected it. On the paper, two little stick figures were drawn. The word mommy was written above the stick figure on the left, and the word me was written above the one on the right. Danny realizes that this is a picture that he drew when he must have been five. Danny smiled sadly. It was back when they were best of friends. His heart ached terrible when he realized just how much things have changed.

His fingers hovered above her shoulder, him being too afraid to touch her. He sighed and lowered his arm, giving up. "I'm sorry," he whispered, before turning around and walking up stairs. If only his mother knew.


End file.
